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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jun 29, 2017 18:17:20 GMT -5
Grand Theft Cosmos - 8th/Lucie. A super fun caper that pits The Doctor and Lucie against returning characters The Headhunter and Karen in a race to steal a powerful alien artifact. The story is most fun in the first half when it focuses on the dueling heists. The second half shifts gears into examining a moral dilemma that’s still pretty interesting, and it features some clever improvisation on the Doctor’s part. A platonic ideal of a fun Who story. A-
Blue Forgotten Planet - 6th/Mila/Charley. Nicholas Briggs concludes the weird side story of Six and Charley with a confident mess. It’s ideas are super ambitious, and our most in depth look at the Viyrans yet reveals them to be a fascinating race. Yet after taking the big swing of destroying the Earth’s population (something Who hasn’t been a stranger to since The Ark) it goes for a very pat and neat ending. Mila also never really clicked as a character beyond her first appearance, though she has some cathartic showdowns with Charley here, her story reaches a rather perfunctory conclusion that also ties up the looming paradox in too neat a bow. Again though, some fantastic ideas, my favorite is the remains of humanity creating a documentary on why they deserve to live. And I’ll always remember the 6/Charley era very fondly. B+
The Pyralis Effect - 4th/Romana II. A boring, standard tale that aims for creepy and misses. There is nothing new or interesting about the Pyralis as a villain, the story’s secondary characters fall flat, and the Doctor is completely and frustratingly sidelined throughout. It tries to pull the same trick Face of Evil did by showing the aftermath of an offscreen adventure for the Doctor, but it doesn’t add much. Only saving grace is Lalla Ward’s excellent narration and some good sound design. C-
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jul 12, 2017 12:48:36 GMT -5
Castle of Fear - 5th/Nyssa. A very silly story set in medieval England. The Doctor and Nyssa help banish Rutans performing experiments in a castle, but have just as much trouble dealing with the paranoid locals. Several characters are not who they seem to be, leading to a bunch of comic performances as they try to overcompensate. It’s a light story, not too challenging, without much substance. B
Ringpullworld - 5th/Turlough/Tegan. A brilliantly weird story dealing with two major concepts: the parasitic storytellers following the TARDIS crew around and the surreal micro universe of Ringpullworld. It oddly uses the two actor, narration heavy structure of Companion Chronicles to tell the story entirely through two people talking about events that have happened, and then using Turlough’s new alien parasite Hippo to take a peek into potential futures. Like most Paul Margs scripts, the details don’t make sense, but the ideas are wild and inspiring. Turlough’s distress over not knowing whether the one possible but slim future where he escapes at the end is a brilliantly bleak note to end on, even knowing of course he and the rest will be safe. A great mindbender. A-
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Post by 🐍 cahusserole 🐍 on Jul 17, 2017 0:43:16 GMT -5
Grand Theft Cosmos may be my favorite 8th Doctor Adventure. It's just so much fun. And I really enjoy the Headhunter.
Ringpullworld was one of the first Companion Chronicles I listened to, and perhaps I need to give it a relisten, because I was not feeling the weird structure at all.
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jul 19, 2017 19:07:14 GMT -5
The Eternal Summer - 5th/Nyssa. A mindbending story about a village out of time. The first two episodes set up a deliciously twisted setting that’s fun to puzzle out. After delivering the promise of such an ambitious and complex story in the first half though it quickly simplifies itself. The villains have a great hook to them but end up becoming generic, which is unfortunate. Maxwell Edison has enough depth to be great, but mostly comes across as annoying. Once unsatisfying explanations for the weirdness start coming out, the story becomes very typical Doctor Who. But there’s so much fun in that early half, I don’t regret listening. B+
The Zygon Who Fell to Earth - 8th/Lucie. A tender and moving story about a Zygon who wants to fit in with Earth culture. Naturally, other Zygons don’t agree. The shapeshifting nature of the Zygons leads to a great use of dramatic irony that runs throughout the story and geniusly never over explains itself. It’s wrapped up in a tender ending that brings a lot of depth to its titular character. A fantastically sweet story. A-
Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code - 7th/Benny. A fun thriller focused on forbidden knowledge and the pursuit of academia, which is cool. Benny remains an all time great character and Lisa Bowerman’s performance is always exceptional. She does a great job laying out the setting and mystery and everything unravels in a very satisfying way...until the end. The ultimate answer to the core mystery, while extremely clever, also feels like a cheat, a weird and fantastical bit of technobabble that doesn’t quite hold together. Still, I love spending time with Bowerman and this character (which reminds me to listen to another season of her series soon). B+
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Post by Prole Hole on Jul 25, 2017 6:37:22 GMT -5
I kind of love The Eternal Summer. I don't disagree that it oversimplifies itself towards the end but... I dunno there's something really resonant about it that I hugely enjoy. It's a great use of Nyssa and Sutton does really well with the material (I feel its much more her story than the Doctor's). Rather charming and wonderful.
The Zygon Who Fell To Earth for me felt a little... I dunno. I don't want to say "rote" because that's a bit unfair, and it has a terrific punch of an emotional ending, but I'm not convinced a lot of the lead-up to that ending is much above functional. So a reversal of the more common "good start, fluff the conclusion" most muddled stories go for. A cautious recommendation from me.
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Aug 1, 2017 15:46:34 GMT -5
The Light At the End - 1st-8th/assorted companions. Big Finish’s 50th anniversary special, is shockingly not very special. Sure, getting all five living classic Doctors in one story is a feat (as well as three fairly good impressions for the other three), but this makes the story so overstuffed there is no room for any story point to breathe. So many concepts are flung at the listener so fast the story is mired in exposition trying to keep up. To simplify matters, companions show up for token appearances and are then quickly whisked out of the story, but this winds up doing a disservice to all of them. At least every Doctor is on fine form, playing totally to their strengths. Plus there’s good ideas amidst the technobabble like the Vess and the conceptual bomb. I suppose there was no way to make a story with so many characters in it completely satisfying, and Nicholas Briggs deserves some credit in the attempt. If nothing else, it satisfies as a celebration of how varied the character of the Doctor has been. B-
Sisters of the Flame/The Vengeance of Morbius - 8th/Lucie. A double part adventure that barely has the story for a single hour. Much of the first episode is Lucie making bad assumptions, arguing pointlessly, and running in circles as it bends backwards to set up exposition. The Doctor only shows up near the end to receive cryptic exposition and nothing is satisfyingly explained. This leads to a second half where there is a bunch of rushed off screen action, more heaps of exposition, and then finally we get to the showdown between the Doctor and a resurrected Morbius. It’s awfully anticlimactic. No one comes off well in this story. D+
Plague of the Daleks - 5th/Nyssa. A fairly bland Dalek adventure, where smart ideas wither as nothing good is done with them. Stockbridge becoming a future tourist destination, a theme park version of a 20th century British hamlet, is clever. Having obnoxious tourists fill out the guest cast is a terrible burden for the story. The tourist idea is quickly thrown out for an acid rain that creates zombies, which is also quickly thrown out for Daleks and time travel complications. Some emotional turns near then end do a bit to reignite my interest and save the story from being horrible, but it still feels like a waste of time. C-
The Suffering - 1st/Vicki/Steven. What is on the surface a basic story about a rabble rousing psychic alien is given a double length run time to flesh out its details. Jacqueline Rayner uses this time to add a meta twist to the story as Steven and Vicki argue how to tell it with their different perspectives. She also adds in several lovely interludes that immerse you in the turn of the 20th century setting, including a funny scene where the Doctor attempts to drive an early automobile. O’Brien and Purves are very on point, delivering fine narration and an easy banter. The story falters when it actually has to get to the meat of it, again it’s fairly straightforward, though the way it weaves in several historical events is clever. Overall though, it’s a great trip, wouldn’t expect less from Rayner. B+
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Sept 15, 2017 10:05:29 GMT -5
Farewell, Great Macedon - 1st/Susan/Ian/Barbara. A beautiful and elegant story about the Doctor and co meeting Alexander the Great. The characters are complex, the story is well detailed, and the performances are excellent. So many scenes drip with great dialog and fantastic tension. My only complaint is it runs a little long, and I wish we could see this with a full cast instead of awkward narration bridging some parts. Still, a fantastic historical that serves as an excellent capture of what the First Doctor era did well. A-
An Earthly Child - 8th/Susan. The concept of the 8th Doctor reuniting with Susan and following up on her later in life is so rich I wish this story was better than it was. Sadly, too much of the short story is spent with the two just missing each other, the alien invasion plot is dull, and the central character of Alex, Susan’s son, is so annoying. The idea of Alex being anti-alien when he himself is half-alien is good irony, but the reveal to him happens so late in the game that it’s wasted. A waste of a good idea. C
Cybermen: Series 1 - A mostly bore. The story takes place during the Orion War, following up Sword of Orion, which is not ground that needed more coverage. The conflict between humans and androids is still poorly drawn and like that story the characters here are really thin. There’s some good horror to be rung out of the concept of Cybermen still, but these moments are few and far between. By the time the nonsense conclusion is reached, I was extremely bored with it, only finding unintentional humor in strange spots (did you know horniness is the one thing that can keep cyber conversion at bay?). A big misfire. D+
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Sept 26, 2017 17:21:06 GMT -5
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance - 1st/Barbara/Ian/Susan. A fantastic short morality based story, Moris Fahri does a fantastic job building the world of Fragrance and the peculiar traditions of its inhabitants. The moral dilemma he puts Barbara and the rest of the TARDIS crew in is truly ingenious. He also has the Doctor give a detailed explanation of how the TARDIS flies (of questionable canonicity), which Russell as Hartnell delivers with a perfect panache. The ending is one of the most shocking and troubling endings in Who history, even if the events can’t be considered canon, it’s still a brilliant story to listen to. A
Prison in Space - 2nd/Jamie/Zoe. A dreadful, sexist piece of dreck that unlike the earlier (also sexist) Mission to Magnus doesn’t even have the sense of playfulness and fun to rest back on. Dick Sharples’ vision of a society of women running the world is so vile and pigheaded, it’s embarrassing to listen to. Why Big Finish thought a story too risible for 1969 would be appropriate for 2010 I have no idea. Even beyond these elements, the story is a bore, with a lot of capturing and escaping, bland side characters, and a lack of clear direction whether it should be taken as goofy or serious. The only redeeming factor is Lisa Bowerman’s superb direction (though no clue why she signed on) keeps this outside of the same F territory as Minuet in Hell. Still, UGH. D-
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Post by Mr. Greene's October Surprise on Sept 26, 2017 18:14:16 GMT -5
Speaking of Doctor Who spinoffs... Class was confirmed by the BBC as being cancelled earlier this month.
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Post by Prole Hole on Sept 28, 2017 4:55:41 GMT -5
I just want to second the hate for Prison In Space - it's absolute garbage. Just because something can be made doesn't mean that it should be made, Big Finish. Really, genuinely awful in a way BF almost never are, and absolutely deserving of that grade.
I only watched the first episode of Class, and even then only because Capaldi was in it and I needed my fix. It didn't look all that great, but then I'm a looooong way away from being part of the target market. No great loss, I don't think.
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Oct 5, 2017 20:06:20 GMT -5
I saw all of Class and it was fine, no great loss though, there's so much great TV and great Doctor Who out there already.
A Thousand Tiny Wings - 7th/Klein. A beautiful, tense story featuring McCoy at his best and an intriguing and dangerous new companion in Elizabeth Klein. The villain from Colditz makes for an intriguing co-lead, with all the same hard edges and cold demeanor but here working with the Doctor rather than against him. She makes a great pair with the most morally ambiguous Doctor and this story highlights this match by putting them in a dark, complicated story. The outpost setting feels post-apocalyptic, but it also features the best features of the historical with the Mau Mau Uprising setting. Every character feels expertly drawn and nuanced, and the central mystery is so intriguing, stringing the listener along perfectly. It culminates in a brilliant climax, this is Doctor Who at its platonic ideal and an interesting new direction for the 7th Doctor. A
The Destroyers - Sara. An action filled script that has frankly too much action for the audio format to handle. The story is bogged down by narrator Jean Marsh having to constantly describe action, which is a drag. The story of investigating a Dalek base is also an extremely dry well even in the 60s, one with all of Nation’s cliches he revisits endlessly. It’s not a bad story though, there’s some very tense scenes and I do love Sara Kingdom, but it’s just completely lacking originality. C
The Emperor of Eternity - 2nd/Victoria/Jamie. A dreadfully boring story that mixes too much fantasy into the historical format to bring the mix of education and groundedness that makes them work. Too many characters flit around the story with nothing that makes them interesting. It’s a mistake to have Frazer Hines be the other actor in this story since that means we only get the perspective of the companions and none of the guest cast is allowed to stand out. By the time the story reaches the unbearably convoluted ending I was so bored. C-
Jago & Litefoot: The Bloodless Soldier - A cracking start to the series, “Bloodless Soldier” features a twist on the vampire and werewolf mythologies that is darkly intriguing. My first reaction is it’s shocking, and a little thrilling, to get a story in the DW universe where a monster isn’t scientifically explained. Without a Doctor character around to explain them, all the monsters in this series remain inexplicable and unknowable, which twists the series into the supernatural. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter slip into their respective titular roles so seamlessly and easily, both demonstrating a beautiful gift for delivering flowery dialog. Lisa Bowerman is also along for the ride, and holds her own well. This story is simple when you get to the meat of it, but there’s enough flavor and atmosphere to make it an excellent start to the line. B+
Jago & Litefoot: The Bellova Devil - A truly weird and wonderful mystery that keeps throwing in new wrenches to its fantastic setup. There is tension throughout as the listener does not really know if the army captain reported dead twice at the center of the story really did come back from the dead. It culminates in a thrilling showdown at the Traveler’s Club that springs twist after twist, surprising every time. Alan Barnes has a gift for Jago and Litefoot’s dialog, dipping into extravagant alliteration that gives the story a clever richness. An amazing and fun story. A-
Serpent Crest - The Nest Cottage series ends on a bum note. The decision to jettison narration for the first story makes it an odd duck, and having one off characters narrate the second and third stories is also weird. It highlights how inconsistent the stories in this set are, and how the lose the quiet mystique of the earlier two sets. It ends with a very strange two part story involving a version of the Second Doctor that doesn’t really use him well at all, and David Troughton’s performance is not great. All in all, a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise solid series. C
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Oct 12, 2017 20:09:30 GMT -5
The Auntie Matter - 4th/Romana I. Just a blast to listen to, “The Auntie Matter” is an incredible farce that walks a tightrope act expertly. The central conceit of an adventure both the Doctor and Romana participate in without even knowing the other is there is a great premise, with a lot of fun missed connections. The rest of the cast plays it broad and silly, which fits the story. I’m also super glad to hear Mary Tamm back in the role of Romana, delivering the perfect amount of dry wit. A very successful story. A-
The Justice of Jalxar - 4th/Romana I/Jago & Litefoot. The pairing of Tom Baker with Benjamin and Baxter’s Jago and Litefoot again is a rich one. The duo have been so well developed on their spinoff that it’s fun to see them again here in their now fully fleshed selves. Adding in Tamm’s Romana is a fun twist, as is pairing her with Jago for a really fun scene. After a great first episode reuniting these characters and playing off some intriguing mysteries, the story simplifies too much and has to focus on very uninteresting side characters. It’s a shame that it trades down from a great setup. B
Klein’s Story - 7th/Klein. A Klein origin story I don’t think we really needed but I’m welcome to listen to it. Tracey Childs’ performance is pitch perfect, and really conveys her rapture with the TARDIS and her crushing anger when the Doctor delivers the final reveal. The big surprise appearance was very welcome too, and a clever, thought through twist that adds some nice dramatic irony to the story. Not essential, but it ties this arc together well. B+
Survival of the Fittest - 7th/Klein. A straightforward story where the Doctor and Klein investigate a curious insectoid alien race under attack. The biggest weakness to this story is everyone is exactly as they seem on the surface. Though there are complications abound, the Doctor’s relationship with the Vrill never evolves and deepens. The evil humans hunting them are always evil humans. The details are interesting, Klein remains fantastic (and I’m glad we got to see her in a neutral setting), and the ending twist rules, but overall this story is fairly basic. B
Shadow of the Past - 3rd/Liz. A brilliant, tense story that drops us back into season 7 where the 3rd Doctor’s relationship with UNIT is at its most fraught. Caroline John gives a powerhouse performance as Liz. The Mim are a very terrifying villain and the attack on Earth feels very real and threatening, with stakes that feel tense even though they only wind up affecting guest characters. With some knockout scenes, this is a great story overall. A-
Jago & Litefoot: The Spirit Trap - A strange story about possession that takes a number of hard turns. I read this was meant to deepen the character of Ellie, but it really doesn’t give that much more shading to her. It is another great showcase for the two main characters though, as Christopher Benjamin again demonstrates his great gift for language as Jago and Trevor Baxter’s Litefoot takes center stage in unraveling the mystery showing off why he’s the brains of the series. The central threat gets a little too out there for my taste by the end, but the story is still solid. A fine, unremarkable entry. B
Jago & Litefoot: The Similarity Engine - Sadly the least interesting story of this first series but still pretty good. “The Similarity Engine” struggles to tie the previous three stories together in a grand finale. Dr. Tulp was never a very engaging villain and remains so here. Despite one great, chilling scene where Litefoot squares off against Tulp possessing a Jago doppelganger, most of this story is inert exposition. Which is a shame, because there’s a lot of neat ideas here and the ending is a great note of bittersweetness. B-
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Post by Mr. Greene's October Surprise on Oct 13, 2017 5:56:49 GMT -5
Trevor Baxter died a few months ago, so no more Jago & Litefoot, now.  Also, "Shada" ( "...SHAAAADAAAAAAA!!!" *grins*) is finally getting an animated completion, to be released in November. Whether they'll finally get Dudley Simpson back to compose a proper score, though, remains to be seen... |
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Oct 19, 2017 19:50:56 GMT -5
The Architects of History - 7th/Klein. A beautiful epic that brings Klein’s arc to a head. The radically new alternate universe setting is a bit hard to get a handle on at first, as are the number of and motivations of the new characters. Once it settles in though this is an intriguing story featuring the 7th Doctor at his most devious and morally dark, sacrificing the entire planet to set things right. The guest cast is wonderfully fleshed out (a Steve Lyons hallmark), and the Selachians are a very threatening menace. A great end to a great arc. A-
The Time Vampire - 4th/Leela. An ambitious alinear story ala Creatures of Beauty only way more confusing and harder to parse. I could not understand what was going on at all, so I don’t know if I should even grade this. But I will give a grade based on my own listening experience, which was mostly unfeeling confusion, punctuated by the occasional appreciation for Louise Jameson and John Leeson’s performances. C
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Oct 25, 2017 18:02:13 GMT -5
City of Spires - 6th/Jamie. The idea of pairing Colin Baker with a post mind wipe Jamie is a great one, it’s a shame the story is very confusing on the outside and very basic at its core. There are so many ideas here, Scotland being pillaged for oil by an alien tradesman from the future, the futuristic oil refinery he’s built, the struggle between the Scottish highlanders and British armies, two overlapping time periods, the very Cyberman like Red Caps, and the hivemind Overlord who’s running the refiniery, and none of them get sufficient play or explanation. The characters are strong though, from Baker and Hines’ good chemistry, to a well fleshed out guest cast. With all these ideas though the story goes nowhere, it’s mostly capture-escape-recapture. I understand holding back on answers and making this a more tightly connected trilogy, but it makes this story suffer on its own terms when it feels like just set up and wheel spinning. B-
Night’s Black Agents - 6th/Jamie. A fascinating story that really digs deep into Jamie’s character. The villain is pretty straightforward, but deliciously evil thanks to a great performance, but this is mostly an examination of how hard Jamie will push to right injustice, and how incorruptible his moral are. It’s a great performance by Hines, who always delivers in this range. The gothic nature of the story is also a huge benefit, drawing a great atmosphere. One major critique I have is the character of Lucy winds up being pivotal, but without an actor playing her and not much else fleshing her out beyond the occasional comment on her looks she is woefully flat, drawing power away from the otherwise cool final moments. Still, this is a fun character piece for everyone’s favorite highlander. B
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Nov 2, 2017 20:13:44 GMT -5
Wreck of the Titan - 6th/Jamie. A super twisty and engaging story that constantly changes premise with every episode. The only consistency is the nautical theme that carries across all the stories the Doctor and Jamie travel through. The story has a fantastic puzzle box construction and it’s fascinating to see the Doctor try to figure out what’s going on, seeing through each layer of deception. Even when he’s wrong it’s convincing and fun to listen to (though his last theory tried my patience a bit when I already knew what was going on). Alexander Siddig delivers the star guest performance as, well, I won’t spoil it, but he’s fantastic. A rollicking great time with an ending that sets up what I hope is a fantastic finale to this trilogy. A-
The Three Companions - Polly/Brigadier/Brewster. A truly weird story (expect nothing less from Marc Platt) that features Polly and The Brigadier narrating two mini Companion Chronicles followed by a story that links them together with the little loved Thomas Brewster. Each segment is both stranger and weaker than the last, with Polly’s story about a city frozen in time the most straightforward and gripping. Afterwards, the threats in the story get more and more abstract and complicated which makes the story hard to parse exactly what’s going on. The most compelling element to me is the simplest one though, the story of Polly and The Brigadier, two characters who never met on the show, reaching out to each other and finding a kind of connection through their experience with the Doctor. It’s these simple scenes of them reminiscing and comparing notes I find really joyful, I suppose it’s too much to ask the story be mostly around that brand of melancholy. B+
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Nov 9, 2017 22:00:08 GMT -5
Legend of the Cybermen - 6th/Jamie/Zoe. A brilliantly creative story that takes its gangbusters premise to every logical conclusion. Not a stone is unturned in its brilliant concept of Cybermen invading the Land of Fiction, with the premise stretching to so many bizarre and fun ideas. The cast of public domain characters allows for a lot of fun as well, with Dickens characters sharing scenes with Dracula, pushing the Land of Fiction to its logical conclusion it never reached on TV. Amidst the gleeful chaos is a very melancholy story about the Doctor regretting the first two companions he was forced to abandon and can never see again. Colin Baker crushes his performance, bringing every bit of drama he is able to find between the ridiculous moments. Frazier Hines and Wendy Padbury are also absolutely excellent, with Padbury especially getting a showcase here. It’s a brilliant story that shows off the best of what Big Finish can do. A+
Freakshow - 5th/Turlough/Tegan. A story that really succeeds in digging into Turlough’s character directly post-Enlightenment with all the angst and distress he must have felt. The story also has a fantastic atmosphere, drawing really well on its old West Arizona setting. This creates a fantastic first episode, but leaves the second episode that’s just a basic runaround against a generic bad guy a little disappointing. There’s a pretty fun climax here though, and Mark Strickland gives a great performance. B+
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Nov 17, 2017 13:13:39 GMT -5
The Demons of the Red Lodge - 5th/Nyssa. A creepy ghost story that hits the ground running with an intriguing mystery and compounds twists and chills from there. Very effective. B+
The Entropy Composition - 5th/Nyssa. Mostly an excuse to spout a bunch of exposition about an evil prog rock song, which is such a delightful concept that I’m willing to forgive most of this story is telling over showing. B
Doing Time - 5th/Nyssa. There’s a lot great ideas in this short story about the Doctor serving time in an alien prison. My favorites are the time field shielding the prison and Nyssa’s constantly failing attempts to get herself incarcerated. The villain is so annoyingly one dimensional however, it drags the story down. B
Special Features - 5th/Nyssa. A truly brilliant story told entirely through a commentary track over an old B-movie short. I had so much fun digging into this fictional film’s history and the conflict that seeps into the edges early on before becoming a chilling threat is aces. Loads of fun. A-
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Post by 🐍 cahusserole 🐍 on Nov 28, 2017 21:51:31 GMT -5
I need this thread to get back in my Participated list.
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Post by Prole Hole on Nov 30, 2017 16:40:05 GMT -5
🐍 cahusserole 🐍 - and you know that, technology allowing, we'd still be thrilled to have you come on Talking Who To You and chew the fat with us!
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Nov 30, 2017 18:56:30 GMT -5
Yeah Huss, we'd love to have you!
The Mists of Time - 3rd/Jo. A really creepy story with a great atmosphere and an intriguing mystery. Mists of Time features my favorite use of Jo in the audio medium yet, using her kindness and adventurous spirit very well. Jonathan Morris gets a lot of mileage out of the premise revolving around ghosts from the past being summoned, leading to some fun twists. The other characters are a little thin, but that’s not much of a concern since Katy Manning is able to carry this story pretty well. B
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Post by 🐍 cahusserole 🐍 on Nov 30, 2017 21:59:45 GMT -5
The hinge on my laptop is starting to feel loose. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it falls apart and I have to get something from this decade.
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Post by Prole Hole on Dec 1, 2017 4:43:16 GMT -5
We await your arrival in the 21st century with eager anticipation!
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Dec 21, 2017 18:07:46 GMT -5
Solitaire - 8th/Charley. A tense, playful mystery that pits Charley against the Celestial Toymaker and puts her through a mind game that is as mentally challenging for the listener as it is for her. It’s a thrill to try and puzzle through the Toymaker’s trap alongside her, and India Fisher gives a brilliant performance as a Charley stripped of everything but her wits and forced to fend for herself. David Bailie is also a perfect match for her as the Toymaker, playing sinister to a hilt. Every twist is thrilling, and the conclusion is spectacularly brilliant. A standout of the range. A
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jan 4, 2018 21:03:05 GMT -5
Infamy of the Zaross - 10th/Rose. A fun return to Rose with a silly premise that isn’t very original but gets some mileage in good twists and good jokes out of it. Sure reality TV satire has been done a lot on Who, but I had fun with this story still thanks to its breakneck pace and clever ideas. The standout is returning Jackie Tyler, who Camille Coduri imbues with such life and fun. This is really the starring story she never got on TV. Piper returns to her role fine enough, but sadly not much is asked of her here (or in the other two stories on the boxset) so it doesn’t feel so triumphant of a comeback. The moral of the story is very confused and not well fleshed out, but I still had some intangible amount of fun with what was going on that I feel charitable towards it. B
The Sword of the Chevalier - 10th/Rose. A great hook in centering on the real non-binary figure Chevalier D’eon cannot propel this lifeless story beyond mediocrity. Though I admire Guy Adams’ ambition in tackling a story with such a gender rebel as a protagonist (and him giving the Doctor and Rose a very modern, open attitude towards it), casting a cis man in the role muddles the message and also gives us a bad performance. The rest of the story is so uninteresting with so many unfulfilled ideas that don’t reach their potential. It’s a shame, because it’s clear Adams has so many great concepts floating around here, he just can’t give any of them the focus they need. C+
Cold Vengeance - 10th/Rose. An utter slog of a story with no interesting characters, no exciting scenes, and exactly one good idea that remains a complete afterthought in favor of boring crap. The Ice Warriors are already deeply uninteresting monsters, and this does nothing to liven them up. Rose and the Doctor get some good moments here and there but it’s not enough to save this at all. What a waste of time, even the most ardent Rose hater would think she deserves better. D
Destination: Nerva - 4th/Leela. A rote and boring story that returns us to Nerva without much cause. The idea of a virus being the threat is an interesting ideas, but the human avatars we interact with are so uninteresting. They have so much backstory to clunkily fit in, when I’d rather see that backstory happen instead of what we’re stuck with. The guest characters aren’t so great either, mostly cliche types. Having already listened to Tom Baker and Louise Jamieson reprise their roles elsewhere, the novelty of their return doesn’t have impact on me, meaning the story must stand on its own, and it doesn’t. C-
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Post by Prole Hole on Jan 5, 2018 11:54:11 GMT -5
Ha, a D for Cold Vengence! Quite right too!
Destination Nerva is the worst possible way for the 4DA's to kick off. Just so disappointing and obvious and tedious. There will be a lot of that throughout Baker's first season....
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jan 11, 2018 19:46:07 GMT -5
Cobwebs - 5th/Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough. A twisty time travel centric story let down by an unpleasant atmosphere and characters. The idea of the Doctor and crew seeing their corpses and arguing how set in history it is feels very tired, especially knowing they will live, obviously. There are some more clever time travel ideas when the crew doubles back and sees how things came to be. Unfortunately this is where we meet all the nasty, Saward esque characters that populate the story, people who have no compunctions about being awful murderers for little reason. That, plus the truly lame resolution to the set up, lead to a story that lets down its great set up. C+
The Renaissance Man - 4th/Leela. A light, fun story with some clever twists. The story gets a lot of mileage out of its setting where anything can happen, often for fun comedy. The premise is a great little mystery that slowly unfolds in a neat little fashion. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are a hoot, settled much better in their roles here than in the previous story. A much better use of the 4th Doctor that suits Baker’s strengths well. B+
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jan 18, 2018 18:44:17 GMT -5
The Whispering Forest - 5th/Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough. An absolute bore of a story mixing in some of Who’s most tired cliches from a stranded society of human castaways (think Face of Evil) to “evil” robots that are really just following their benevolent programming too literally (think The Doctor Dances). Why the story chooses to center itself on political machinations of this corrupted society is beyond me, but it’s completely boring. Every guest character is an uninteresting archetype that a great cast (including Hayley Atwell!) can’t elevate. The good news is the TARDIS team is on point. Tegan and Turlough are put to much better use here than last story, while Nyssa and the Doctor are also solid. They salvage a wreck of a story around them. C-
The Wrath of the Iceni - 4th/Leela. A fantastic character piece for Leela, and a rare (I believe first for Big Finish) pure historical for the Fourth Doctor. Though the question of changing unjust historical events is VERY familiar territory, it always plays well with me when the focus on character is played well, and this is a sterling example. It makes sense to pit the very righteous Leela against the unjust Roman conquerors of Early Britain, but it gets an extra twist when Leela’s cause does not turn out to be as just as it seems. Jameson knocks this material out of the park, as she always does, but especially here. Baker is also excellent, having settled into his role again fully. A fantastic take on an old cliche. A-
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Post by Nathan Ford's Evil Twin on Jan 25, 2018 20:22:04 GMT -5
The Destination Wars - 1st/Susan/Barbara/Ian. A story with both amazing ideas and frustrating execution. Pitting the First Doctor against the Master could be a lazy box ticking exercise, but the way the Master is so well characterized, helped by a fantastic performance by James Dreyfus, makes this a worthy entry into the Master canon. The story features a convoluted scheme with many fun features befitting a great Master story, with the best being a clever use of time travel that creates a clean break in the story, layering the plot in interesting ways. Unfortunately the other high concept ideas fall way short. Interrogation of the Doctor’s essential kidnapping of Barbara and Ian is brought up and brushed away, and the story’s use of a story of colonists and native people is incredibly shallow, bordering on problematic. Good news is the characterization is spot on. Though Bradley’s performance feels different from Hartnell’s by the end of the story he makes it his own, and this story has strong insight into this incarnation. Susan is also extremely well characterized, given a more nuanced portrayal here than she usually got on the show. And though Ian and Barbara are underserved by this story, Glover and Powell acquit themselves. Overall, though the story has some frustrations, it makes a good case for its existence. B-
The Cradle of the Snake - 5th/Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough. Bringing back the Mara felt inevitable for Big Finish. This story doesn’t do too much more with the concept beyond its initial pretty great hook: this time it’s the Doctor that’s possessed. Davison has a blast playing the possessed Doctor, he makes for such a fun and engaging villain. Unfortunately the story enters a long lull from the thrilling episode 1 cliffhanger until the end of story climax where it’s mostly the companions following the MaraDoctor around, growing slowly more suspicious but unable to actually affect anything. Add in guest characters either forgettable or annoying and it hampers a story that should have soared. C+
Prole, I was wondering what you meant by a lot of obvious and tedious stories in the first 4DA season since I enjoyed the last two. Then I got to...
Energy of the Daleks - 4th/Leela. A very dull, alsoran Dalek story. There is nothing about this special or unique. Even the Doctor and Leela seem bored during it, as Baker and Jameson give half-hearted performances (especially uncharacteristic for Jameson). How unnecessary. D+
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Post by Prole Hole on Jan 26, 2018 5:49:22 GMT -5
Oh yeah, energy is the very last thing Energy Of The Daleks has, ironically. So. Very. Dull. I shall say no more about the next couple of stories until you cover them... Cradle of the Snake seems a little harsh there - I love Davison's performance. and he's really relishing the chance to get off the hook for once. It's true the plot kind of flops to a close, but I just enjoyed having his Doctor step outside his regular, buttoned-up performance.
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